It was the year that changed it all, featuring the band that never left it!

Steel Panther jump in our Delorean and take us back three whole decades, all the way to 1984 – the land of excess and debauchery and the year that metal changed forever!

We revisit the era that saw Metallica lead the thrash revolution, Iron Maiden conquer the planet with World Slavery, Motley Crue rewrite the rule book on hard partying and Van Halen become the biggest band in the world. Featuring exclusive interviews from the people that made it happen and a retrospective look at metal’s finest moments via our boys in Steel Panther, this is a guide to a time that defined everything we still do today. It’s big, it’s colourful and it’s awesome. And it’s out next week!

Plus, as well as free Avenged Sevenfold and Dio posters and a FREE CD featuring cuts from Down, Cradle Of Filth, Sabaton, Miss May I, Triptykon, Animals As Leaders and Metal God Rob Halford covering a Dio classic, we’re packing a FREE FESTIVAL GUIDE, giving you your essential A-Z of every single must-see event going this summer. Don’t blame us if you’re left with a hard choice or two.

As well as a look back into metal’s illustrious past, we also look ahead to the future! Crossfaith, Architects, Of Mice & Men, Killswitch Engage and Bullet are just some of the names we get to gaze into their crystal balls and work out the road ahead. Who’ll headline Download 2020? What will we be wearing in ten years? Who’s gonna get to have cool little robot servants?! We ask the big questions.

We also get an exclusive studio update on the new Mastodon album, pop round to DevilDriver frontman Dez Fafara’s house for a nosey around and a chat about being all, like, spiritual and stuff, find out the true story behind Zakk Wylde almost joining Gn’R (no really) and unearth some classic Cradle Of Filth photos and amazing stories behind their soon-to-be-reissued Total Fucking Darkness demo.

And, we chat to the internet-breaking, genre-defying monster that is Babymetal (look, someone had to do it), ask Cancer Bats frontman Liam Cormier why safety still comes first, get the skinny on the tech-tastic new Animals As Leaders album and chat to Miss May I ahead of new album Rise Of The Lion and discover if they really do have what it takes to be metal’s next heavyweights

All that plus Chris Jericho on why he loves Anthrax, Twisted Sister‘s maddest moments, an exclusive look into the new Dragonforce album and amazing interviews with Coven, The Pretty Reckless, Radkey, Within Temptation and much, much more! It’s onsale next week and it will make your life better. Guaranteed.